Doktor Maxwell, formoder jeg?

by Mads Brügger, Morten Rønnelund (Narrator)

I årevis har journalist Mads Brügger været besat af en gådefuld organisation ved navn Det Sydafrikanske Institut for Maritim Research (SAIMR), der tilhører Apartheid-regimets mørkeste hemmeligheder. Han har endda lavet en prisbelønnet dokumentarfilm om SAIMR (Cold Case Hammarskjöld), men det stopper ikke her.

I Doktor Maxwell, formoder jeg? graver han sig endnu længere ned i kaninhullet og kommer tættere end nogensinde på sandheden om SAIMR og den mystiske og voldsparate kæderyger Keith Maxwell, der var instituttets sidst kendte leder.

En beretning om besættelse og den fine linje mellem virkelighed og fiktion samt løgn og sandhed.

Audible Audio

First published October 28, 2022

Reviews

[Frederik · Rating 2 out of 5]

Klassisk Mads Brügger-konspirationsteoretisk snik-snak fra Danmarks måske nok eneste fuldbagte gonzo-reporter, med attentatet på Dag Hammerskjold, et sydafrikansk højreekstremistisk Aids-komplot og de sædvanlige rabiate personligheder som faste ingredienser i komplot-potten. Ligesom Mexicodramaet i “11.11.11.” er underholdningsværdien høj, troværdigheden og kildekritikken tilsvarende lav, og man skal vist nok være Brüggerfan for at falde for det hele. Det er vi nogle, der er, men kun i doser.

[Lumumbista · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good and quick read for those who watched Cold Case Hammarskjöld but were left wanting more corroboration. There are a lot more details here, e.g., Keith Maxwell's birth and death dates, more information from Alexander Jones about the South African Institute for Maritime Research (particularly about their "vaccination" operations in Xai-Xai), gossip about how Susan Williams threatened Mads with a lawsuit if he mentioned her or her book in his film, etc. The book is not exactly a journalistic exposé or an academic monograph, so there are (unnecessary) chapters dedicated to unsuccessful wild goose chases (like hunting down the wrong Ian Kerr in England), but the action is fast and it's a fun read.

Nevertheless, it's remarkable how the book has no footnotes whatsoever. For someone (i.e., Mads) who criticizes Susan Williams for poor sourcing, Mads doesn't exactly fare much better. (This doesn't mean that the claims being advanced are not credible—they are!—just that they ought to be corroborated more meticulously.) Some of his investigative decisions also seem baffling: why go to Xai-Xai but leave before finding the relevant witnesses that your fixer Tavares later found for you? Why refuse to share Maxwell's memoir with Chris Nicholson when he promised you incriminating documents in return? Why not go to the Isle of Man to chase a much more robust lead than the fake Devon lead?

The last chapter provides some home: an unnamed South African meeds Mads in Copenhagen and promises to pick up the investigation where Mads left it (for reasons of space and time). But how are we supposed to know where to follow up with this mystery man? All in all, an interesting book, but one that by no means ties all the loose ends of this complex equation together.

[Frederik Kruckow]

Enten har Mads Brügger optrevlet en af de største og mest frygtelige konspirationer eller også er der en stor international konspiration om at drive Mads Brügger til vanvid. Ligemeget hvad en utroligt medrivende, velskrevet, gruopvækkende og underholdende bog.

[Adam Garff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Drabelig underholdning fra en gudsbenået monomaniker

[Jacob Hoeck · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ét langt rablende forsvar for ikke at lyde som konspirationsteoretiker. Ynkeligt

[Lotte VIsby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow den skulle lige synke